There were some rough patches earlier in the season for Anderson, but the organization's top non-Bauer pitching prospect has turned things around of late. After Anderson's 10-run implosion on May 7, the right-hander has put up a 2.15 ERA and in 29.1 innings (five starts). Anderson had a few good starts before the May 7 blowup, but those outings featured more walks than strikeouts. Changing that has been the key turnaround for Anderson lately, as the right-hander owns a 22:9 SO:BB in the 29.1 innings that have constituted his recent rebound. Anderson is not all the way back to where he was last year, but the right-hander does seem to be putting things together. Given his relative lack of experience -- both at Double-A and as a pitcher in general -- these bumps and bruises were bound to happen. What is most important for Anderson is to keep growing as a pitcher, something he seems to have been doing over the last month.

Making his first rehab start since going on the disabled list May 22 with a lower back strain, McAllister got knocked around by Low-A hitters. Of course, the raw results of a rehab outing do not really tell us much. The fact that McAllister struck out four hitters while only walking one in his 4.1 innings point to the right-hander making a conscious effort to fill up the strike zone. The most important thing for McAllister is getting back to what was working for him earlier in the season -- and possibly pre-injury -- which could just be getting the ball over the plate. McAllister seemed to start struggling with walks as he neared his disabled list stint, something that was not an issue Thursday. He is not major league ready yet, but McAllister is on his way back.

Tyler Cloyd (SP, Columbus): W (3-3), 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HBP. Cloyd gets a complete game* thanks to the rain shortening the Clippers' win. This complete game* makes it two in a row for Cloyd as the right-hander has pitched well over his last four starts.

Roberto Perez (C, Columbus): 2-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 SO. Perez's offensive breakout in 2014 continued Thursday with the catcher adding two more hits and an extra base hit. He will likely cool at some point and has never hit for this much power before, but given his ability to draw walks and play stellar defense, even keeping some of this improvement will go a long way in getting Perez to the majors.

Giovanny Urshela (3B, Columbus): 2-for-3, 2 R, 1 2B. Urshela is still working on improving his on-base percentage to go with his good power in Columbus. The third baseman is getting there and has hits in seven of his last eight games.

Elliot Johnson (RF, Columbus): 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI. Between Audy Ciriaco -- whom Tony wrote about yesterday -- and Johnson, Columbus has a ton of flexibility in its lineups. Johnson has never really hit at the major league level but the 30-year-old is doing well in Triple-A this season with a .278/.356/.433 line in 25 games.

Jose Ramirez (SS, Columbus): 1-for-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 SO. Following a brief second base/center field interlude, Ramirez was back at shortstop Thursday. With nine games at shortstop in the 13 since Ramirez returned to Columbus, the 21-year-old is likely either gaining experience for a future utility infield position or being showcased as a potential trade chip down the line.

Adam Miller (RP, Akron): L (0-2), 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR. One mistake proved to be the difference in this game as the solo home run Miller allowed accounted for all of the offense in this game. The home run aside, Miller's line is pretty solid as the right-hander continues down the comeback trail.

Jordan Smith (RF, Akron): 2-for-3, 1 SB. Smith's first 50 games were 50 to forget, but given the 23-year-old's history of on-base ability and plate discipline, it is well-worth seeing if the outfielder can make the adjustments needed to stick in Double-A.

Francisco Lindor (SS, Akron): 1-for-4, 1 SB. There was not much offense for Akron Thursday, but Lindor did single and steal his 14th base of the season.

Jake Lowery (1B, Akron): 0-for-3, 2 SO. Though Lowery struggled Thursday, just being back on the field is an accomplishment for the 23-year-old. This was Lowery's first game since being hit in the face by a pitch on April 18.

D.J. Brown (SP, Carolina): ND, 4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 WP. Brown initially pitched well after filling Dylan Baker's spot in the Carolina rotation, but lately the right-hander has stumbled. The 23-year-old has allowed four or more runs in five of his last six starts.

Josh Martin (RP, Carolina): W (3-3), 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO. After allowing two runs his last time out, Martin got back on track Thursday. Martin now owns an impressive 31:7 SO:BB in 29.2 innings and should be in consideration for an Akron bullpen spot when one opens up.

Jerrud Sabourin (1B, Carolina): 2-for-2, 2 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 E. Except for the error, this was a perfect day for Sabourin. The Sabour-Tooth Tiger showed some pop and put his willingness to take a walk when it is given to him on display.

Luigi Rodriguez (LF, Carolina): 1-for-2, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 E. After only playing 56 games in 2013, Rodriguez is still looking to make up for lost time and get going this year. Thursday's double was the first extra base hit for Rodriguez since May 10.

Joe Sever (DH, Carolina): 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO & Yandy Diaz (3B, Carolina): 0-for-3, 1 R, 1 BB. Both Sever and Diaz made their first appearances since getting hurt on opening night. These two are interesting prospects who deserve more looks, which they can finally get now that they are healthy again.

Claudio Bautista (2B, Lake County, Game 1): 3-for-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 SO, 1 SB. Bautista is still an intriguing prospect based on this kind of raw ability. The second baseman has multiple hits in each of his last three games, though the 20-year-old (like many 20-year-olds) is looking to be more consistent with his talent.

Dorssys Paulino (LF, Lake County, Game 1): 2-for-2, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 E. On the whole, Paulino is still struggling at the plate since his outfield conversion. Given the learning curve of undergoing a complete position change midseason, it would not be surprising if that is potentially seeping into his production at the plate.

Paul Hendrix (3B, Lake County, Game 1): 1-for-4, 1 2B, 2 SO. Hendrix's game one basically sums up his season to date: power and strikeouts. After this game the infielder owned a .220 isolated power, 20 extra base hits, and 55 strikeouts in 45 games.

Mitch Brown (SP, Lake County, Game 2): ND, 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO, 1 HR, 2 WP. Thursday was a bit of a step back for Brown, but the right-hander did tie his season-high in strikeouts. The strong strikeout-walk combination Brown showed here is important given his 42:34 SO:BB in 54.0 innings on the season.

Matt Whitehouse (RP, Lake County, Game 2): W (2-1), 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 SO, 1 WP. Whitehouse is another pitcher who has looked better of late, only allowing one run while striking out 10 batters in his last two outings (eight innings). The left-hander's 4.83 ERA in 31.2 innings is not great, but Whitehouse's 32:10 SO:BB gives hope for him going forward.

Dorssys Paulino (LF, Lake County, Game 2): 2-for-3, 1 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 E. Paulino continued his big day with the bat in game two, though the left fielder also committed his second error in as many games and third in the last four.

Clint Frazier (CF, Lake County, Game 2): 1-for-2, 2 R, 1 BB. Frazier, last year's first round pick, might be adjusting to full season ball as he has nine hits in his last six games. The center fielder is still getting his power to translate to games, though just learning how to consistently get on base has value for the 19-year-old.

If you want to follow Jim on Twitter, he’s@JimPiascik. If you want to e-mail him, you can do so at jpiasci1@gmail.com. If you want to read his Master's thesis on college athletes and Twitter, you can do so here.

User Comments

Chip

June 6, 2014 - 11:34 AM EDT

I would expect a trade of Cabrera with Ramirez being promoted after instead of a Ramirez trade, but funnier things have happened.

Sternfan10

June 6, 2014 - 9:43 AM EDT

They would be foolish to trade Ramirez, getting the cart in front of the horse, lets see if the Indians stay in contention after this long road trip. Logan Vick has really leveled out, thought he had a shot as a maybe a 4th outfielder type, but looks like he will be another victim of the Advanced A pitching upgrade from Low A. I like the Indians draft, as long as they can sign the picks from yesterday, really like the Sheffield pick.

Nikolaos

June 6, 2014 - 9:17 AM EDT

I know that Paul Hendrix and Anthony Gallas were not high on the prospect priority list. With that being said, they both are still putting up some good numbers, with the exception of Hendrix's K's that you had mentioned above. Will it take most, if not all of this season to change their standing in the prospect pecking order? I know both of them were on an unsustainable track of production...but I have always been curious on how much the scouts and management must see in order to start payming more attention to lower priority prospects?

A good example is the case of Mike Piazza being taken in the 62nd round in 1988...sure, he didn't debut until 1992...but there had to be a turning point of when scouts and management began to take notice. I guess I am asking you if these "moments" are visible, or do we only see and hear about them after the fact?

Jim Piascik

June 6, 2014 - 9:15 AM EDT

I'm with you Tondo. Amazing how he has come up through the system and found success so young. Typically a very good sign for a player's career.

Tondo

June 6, 2014 - 9:11 AM EDT

Just a quick reminder, since it is draft time: Joes Ramirez is exactly the same age as Bradley Zimmer and Mike Papi. Keep him and watch him get even better, don't trade him.

anonymous

June 6, 2014 - 9:01 AM EDT

Don't forget that even though Paulino has been around longer than Fraizer he is still younger.

Walter

June 6, 2014 - 8:27 AM EDT

Vick got sent down to LC, Battaglia to MHV.

Jim Piascik

June 6, 2014 - 8:19 AM EDT

Well, two errors in the doubleheader. Three errors in his last four games. But he is still learning the outfield. He only got a couple-week crash course before heading right back out to real games.

Sternfan10

June 6, 2014 - 8:12 AM EDT

Paulino looks like a guy without a position, three boots in a doubleheader in LF is unreal. When was the last time a LF made three errors in a day? Luigi Rodriguez, what happened to this guy, he went from being a highly regarded prospect to a guy that barely can hit above the Mendoza Line. With Sever and Diaz activated in Carolina, who got removed from the roster/

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!